News Bureau

Exercises set for May 14

A generation ago, all an entrepreneur needed was an idea and a garage. Now, entrepreneurs need little more than an Internet connection – and, for UI students, the help of a unit on campus that can guide them as they turn their ideas into full-fledged businesses.

Resources await at the Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education

Startup develops wearable systems for road safety

Students play the role of U.S. House members for a semester and gain insights on process, politics and power.

Administrative Posts

Administrative Posts

Administrative Posts

Administrative Posts

Administrative Posts

Administrative Posts

Student group leads in membership, awards and enthusiasm

Celebrating five generations of Illinois students

A farmer in Burkina Faso learns how to safely store his crops. An entrepreneur in India learns how to truck her harvested grain to market. Thanks to student animators at the U. of I., these people and countless others around the world can also see and hear about the symptoms, transmission and treatment of tuberculosis, or how and when to wash their hands to avoid disease.

Journeys that foster self-discovery are not always easy or pleasant – but can be empowering and liberating, says Elka Kazmierczak, a slender woman with short gray hair and sparkling brown eyes. She seems to vibrate with energy and purpose. At the first meeting of the semester for the Illini Art Therapy Association, Kazmierczak invites participants to take such a journey with her.

Murphy Lab Participant/Observer Program creates interdisciplinary learning environment

The weeklong camp is geared toward high school students with interests in science and engineering. GAMES includes seven camps, each focusing on a particular engineering discipline: aerospace engineering, bioengineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, materials science and robotics.

The little girl chatted excitedly to her dad. As the two waited in the check-in line, she began to list all of the things she loved about camp: the special guest, the other kids, the counselors. She was the typical girl excited to attend summer camp, with one marked difference: two weeks earlier her mom passed away from cancer.

The Career Center at the U. of I. is in a handy spot, across the street from the Alma Mater sculpture on the edge of Campustown.

Milestones and relevant connections to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's 150th anniversary. 

The athlete shines on the playing field or the court, in the gym or the pool. That’s the part of “student-athlete” that most UI fans know about. The student part happens out of the limelight, but the record shows student-athletes succeeding there as well.

Dining Services cooked up some excitement at the annual New Student Convocation and the Guinness Book of World Records certified their efforts. The world’ largest smoothie – a 330-gallon pink delight – was created from 960 pounds of yogurt, 600 pounds of strawberries and 105 gallons of pineapple juice.

Chinese culture and language camp promotes international outlook

As Illinois students took their seats last fall in lecture halls across campus, half a world and several time zones away in New Delhi, Kunwar Apoorva Singh booted up his computer and logged into the Illinois portion of Coursera, the consortium of more than 80 global universities offering free online courses to anyone in the world with access to the Internet.

On Quad Day, more than 600 registered student organizations set up displays in hopes of attracting new members. Junior Utkarsh Yadav didn’t need to browse. He knew exactly which RSO he wanted to join.

When there’s a serious crime within the campus district, the U. of I. police department sends an email to inform the campus community of the situation. Public Safety officials are planning to use the system to share good news as well.

Dear Parents

Much to my delight, in my first few months as chancellor I have discovered two common threads at this great university: Learning never rests and helping others is a way of life.

There are outstanding universities in every state where a student can get an education. We want to ensure that at Illinois, students don’t just get an education – they have experiences that really prepare them for the challenges they’ll have when they leave this campus. 

On Oct.1 during Homecoming I assumed my new responsibilities as vice president of the University of Illinois and as chancellor of the Urbana campus. I want to share with you how excited and humbled I am to have the privilege to lead one of the greatest modern research universities in the world. 

As this issue of Postmarks reaches your home, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign we are moving into the final months of the academic year.

By the time you are reading this issue of Postmarks, we’ll be moving into the final months of our academic year. It’s hard to believe that another academic year is coming to a close so quickly. And just as those of us on campus find ourselves in a whirlwind of exams, final projects and preparation for graduation, many of you are considering whether Illinois is the right choice for your child next year. 

As you get this issue of Postmarks in the mail, we’re moving into the final couple of months of our academic year here at Illinois.

By the time this fall issue of Postmarks is in your hands, we’ll be well into the fall semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nearly 7,000 freshmen and more than 1,300 new transfer students joined the Illinois family in August, setting new records for academic achievement. Together with our returning students, they represent every state in the nation and nearly half the nations in the world. The campus is once again full of the energy, excitement and anticipation of what this year will bring us all.

As you read this issue of Postmarks, we will be near the mid-point of the fall semester. Whether this is your first semester with a son or daughter at Illinois or it is a year of return for your child, we are proud to count them among our students.

By the time this issue of Postmarks is in your hands, we'll be well into the fall semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

By the time you read this issue of Postmarks, we’ll be nearing the middle of the fall semester here at Illinois.

What should a little girl aspire to become when she grows up? If you’re asking Kristin Schoemaker, anything she wants. Schoemaker, a junior in nuclear engineering, is preparing to cast off the limitations of an age-old Navy rule prohibiting women from serving on nuclear submarines.

Visiting Australia was on Lindsay Duffy’s bucket list since the seventh grade, the U.of I. junior said. So Duffy “did a little happy dance” when she learned she’d be studying abroad Down Under.

To new Urbana Chancellor and UI Vice President Phyllis M. Wise, education and family are inextricable elements.

Although the inscription on the base of the Alma Mater statue hasn’t changed, the statue’s location did Aug. 7 as workers lifted the 5-ton sculpture onto a truck and took it to Chicago for extensive conservation work.

Illinois computer science students Mark Craft and Qinglin Chen created an extension for the Chrome web browser to verify articles and pictures posted to Facebook. Even more impressive? They did it in less than 36 hours, as part of a student hackathon event hosted by Princeton University in November 2016.

History students unearth the unknown about artifacts on the Web

The University of Illinois Marching Illini provide the soundtrack for a long list of cherished football traditions. Gridiron games wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without the band leading the players out of the tunnel, playing “Imperial March” from “Star Wars” on third downs and of course “Oskee Wow Wow” after every touchdown. But the band is abandoning one lesser-known custom that dates back several generations – and everyone is happy to see this tradition go.

Last spring, a Cinderella team from the U. of I. clinched a berth in the Final Four of a major college tournament. But this unheralded group of undergraduates used pawns, bishops and queens – not basketballs – to work their tournament magic.

Flowers. Groundnuts (peanuts). Wheat. And paddy (rice): These were the focus of a 10-day student excursion to India over the 2014 winter break. Business administration professor Udatta Palekar organized the trip with 15 undergraduate business students majoring in supply chain management.

It was the final game of the Urbana Park District basketball season, and Jordan Morris’ motley crew of third- and fourth-grade boys (at right) was winning. He watched them dribble, pass and deploy the pump fake and the jab step – moves he and his friends had taught them at practice – to almost double their opponent’s score.

All students have their favorite places to escape the stress of finals week. But during a study break last December, senior Shelby Wills found herself in a place she had never imagined: in a swimming pool with a classmate who has a severe physical disability.

Madeline Kull didn’t know much about sustainability initiatives before starting an internship at the Illinois Sustainability Technology Center, but found that the field fit her like a recycled glove.

On a campus of 40,000 undergraduates, a student organization can provide a grounding point. For the members of Frontiers International Health Society, it’s also a launch pad, sending students far beyond the lecture halls to apply their skills around the globe.